Solano College board hears Measure Q bond update

FAIRFIELD — The Solano Community College governing board received a quick update Wednesday on Measure Q – albeit in a less formal setting than past updates.

The board, meeting in the faculty lounge over dinner with representatives of the Associated Students of Solano College, learned a little about where the bond measure stands and what projects are under consideration.

Measure Q is the 2012 bond to be used for facilities improvements and construction.

Leigh Sata, executive bonds manager for the college, told trustees that they would be receiving a 10-pound binder containing the facilities master plan, which lays out what the first $120 million in bond funding will be spent on.

Sata said the projects are split into two series.

Series A includes professional services and energy projects, such as implementing solar power in some areas of the school as well as less-dramatic things like replacing less-efficient lighting with greener alternatives.

Series B includes property purchases as well as corporate training such as working with the Jimmy Doolittle Center on establishing an aeronautics program.

Architect Curtis Owyang also updated the board on the progress of one of the biggest Measure Q projects, the redesign and upgrading of Building 1200, the campus theater.

Owyang showed off some early three-dimensional computer renderings of the possible designs for the refurbished theater building.

Early portions of that project would include seismic improvements, disabled access and addressing mechanical issues inside the building. Most of the renderings showed a larger entryway and lobby area, some with a large glass facade. Owyang said designers are trying to preserve the college’s “architectural language” in the new designs.

Other areas of the theater building will be addressed, including the leaky roof, the need for improved seating and better acoustics.

Still a few years down the road, Phase 2 of that project includes tearing down the portable classrooms that serve as Building 1100, and replacing them with classroom space that will be incorporated into the theater building.

Owyang said the main focus of the first phase is, “making the building functional, habitable and safe.”

Reach Mike Corpos at 427-6979 or [email protected] Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mcorposdr.